Whedon knows the Avengers. A lot better than some of *you* do. He knows damn well what role Falcon and other minority/female characters play in the team, and I have no doubt in my mind that not only is he *open* to increasing the diversity of the team in Avengers 2, he's counting on it.

You seem to be assuming that characters always play the same role in every story they're in and can easily be slipped into place providing you've read enough comics. Most of the characters in Marvel's stable could contribute something great or invaluable to a film given the right circumstances but if the particular Avengers story being told doesn't obviously lend itself to a particular character then I wouldn't want them used just for diversity's sake. I'm not talking about how powers sets are used or any of that background noise, just pointing out that some characters are more appropriately used to explore some themes than others. Nobody isn't open to including a more diverse group, that would be ridiculous, but I maintain it should not be an initial concern. A good story will connect with everybody regardless of ethnicity or gender.